Combination releasable locking device



Jan. 1, 1952 E. o. woons COMBINATION RELEASABLE LOCKING DEVICE Filed Jan. 20, 1947 BYW mf "f Patented Jan. l, 1952 l .,COMBINATION RELEASABLE4 LooKiNG nevica '.'Elmer O. Woods, Los Angeles, Calif. Application January 20,F1947,:`Serial Not'722,993

Granted miam-fthe acc of Maren 253, 1:1883, was

The .invention 'described'herein .may be. manufactured and used by orfor"the'Government'for governmental"purposeswithoutipayment to me of any royalty thereon.

'Ihis invention relates :toimprovements inranf choring devices for temporarily but securely at taching miscellaneous equipment to a structure, and more specifically for attaching radio equipment to an aircraft structure.

It was necessary, prior to this invention, to se cure conventional slide fasteners of the type here in described, with safety wire, to prevent disengagement. The use of safety wire to secure slide fasteners is a long and tedious operation, and especialy so if the equipment to be secured is not accessibly located. i

Anobjeot of this invention is to expedite the maintenance of equipment that is temporarily attached to a structure, and that must be removed from the basic structure for repair and maintenance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a readily disengageable locking means for securing conventional slide fasteners.

Another object is to provide locking means which will not interfere with the ready use of such slide fasteners.

Another object is to provide a locking means which will engage automatically to hold the fa.,- tener when the slide fastener is engaged with the anchoring post.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a slide fastener and the securing device in locked position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an end view taken from the right hand end of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view taken from a position midway between that occupied when viewing the assembly in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Figs. l, 2 and 3, I0 is a'plate, preferably of metal, which it is desired to attach to a post II which may be mounted on a different structure. Plate I may be the metal flange on a radio receiver while post II may be attached to the instrument board of an airplane or the like. Mounted upon the plate I0 there is a snap slide I2 which is slidable past a rivet I3. The snap slide I2 has an upturned end I4, the lower portion of which bears an opening I6 which is a. continuation of a slot I1. As is well known, the slide I2 is divided into two portions I8 and I9 (Fig. 4) by the slot I1. These portions are spring temperecl and are temporarilyforced apartwhen'the openjend 20 lengages `a` special slotted post I I, the slot of which is of a diameter slightlylargerthan `mitted and therein held bythe spring' of portions `I8 and I9.

Despite the excellentfgrip` on'thepost IIee'xerted by the snap slide I2, it has been found insufficient to hold apparatus securely on airplanes. In order to hold the snap slide I2 onto post I I, it has been customary to run a wire through a hole 22 in the end of the slide and also run the wire through a hole 29 in the post II. The ends of the wire werev then twisted. It is the purpose of my invention to avoid this cumbersome fastening of wire.

The securing device comprises a leaf spring 23 which has a flat portion 24 and an :angled porftion 25. Atthe higher extremity of portion 25, there is a tongue 26 and a pair of shoulders 21 (Fig. 1). The tongue 26 is proportioned to t into the opening I6. The shoulders are adapted to bear against the upturned slide end I4. In this position of the securing device, the snap slide cannot be withdrawn from post II because the leafY tion 24 of the leaf spring 23.

When it is desired to retract the snap slide I2, the leaf spring 23 is pressed down with the thumb nail while the index finger and thumb of the same hand retract the snap slide. Since the opening IB is wider at its base than at its top, shoulders 21 can enter the slot I1. Leaf spring 23 therefor is made sufficiently narrow so that it may enter slot I1 with ample clearance, yet wide enough so that shoulders 21 can abut slide end I4 while tongue 26 is in opening I6.

When slide I2 is slid forward to engage post II, inclined portion 25 of leaf spring 23 begins to slide along the top of opening I6 as the slide nears the post. As engagement with the post I I takes place, the tongue 26 also engages the top of opening IB and the shoulders 21 engage portion I4 of the slide due to the spring action of part 25 of the leaf spring 23. Automatic locking of the slide therefore takes place at the post II and at the shoulders 21 simultaneously. The only manual operationnecessary is to push the slide by its portion I4 into engagement.

The invention claimed is:

In a combination comprising a slide fastener and releasable securing devices therefor, a base plate. a, slide fastener of a snap-slide leaf type having a pair of side-by-side leaves mounted on 3 said base plate, a slotted post arising over said base plate at the forward end thereof, said post being releasably engageable by the outer ends of said leaves, rivet-like retaining means extending upward from said base plate rearwardly of said post for holding the leaves of said snap slide fastener in slidable engagement therewith and in alignment with said post, an upturned rear end on said snap slide fastener, said leaves being joined together only at the upturned portion thereof, said rear end having an opening adjacent the region where the end is upturned, said opening being of greater width at its bottom than at its top, a leaf-type spring attached to said base plate by one of its ends, said spring having a gently rising portion, an integral tongue and shouldered end substantially on the same plane with each other and with said spring, said end normally abutting with its shoulders the edges of the opening in the upturned portion of the snap slide fastener, the tongue extending therein to secure the snap slide fastener in locked position, the shoulders and the leaf spring being adapted to pass through the lower part of the opening in the upturned portion of the snap slide fastener when the inclined portion of the leaf spring is depressed whereby to allow manual retraction of i the snap slide upturned portion over the leaf spring, the latter being releasable between the leaves of the snap slide fastener and being positoned wholly behind the rivet-like retaining means even when the inclined portion is depressed, whereby to clear said retaining means at all times.

ELMER O. WOODS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 266,600 Blayney Oct. 31, 1882 291,519 Jones Jan. 8, 1884 405,962 Kennedy June 25, 1889 1,968,557 Johanson July 31, 1934 2,081,606 Sorkind May 25, 1937 2,164,657 Levy July 4, 1939 2,326,558 Pelz Aug. 10, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 441,173 Great Britain Jan. 14, 1936 

